Pear-Shaped Perfume Bottle
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Pear-Shaped Perfume Bottle 2019-08-14
Name/Title
Pear-Shaped Perfume BottleEntry/Object ID
11NE-Mi51-187Description
The rim is tubular, folded inwards and flattened. The cylindrical neck is slightly curved and constricts at the junction with the body. The body is piriform, creating a pear-shaped body. The base is flat. The vessel is intact with some iridescence and encrustation.Use
Perfume VesselContext
One of the earliest blown perfume vessels, originating in the first century CE, was the piriform bottle. Its long narrow neck allowed the liquid within to be emptied drop by drop which also made the vessel easy to stopper. The shape is thought to be inspired by a ceramic bottle type common in the Hellenistic period which served the same purpose as its glass counterpart. They were both used as perfume vessels, often being placed in tombs used as "perfumes for the dead" in the early Roman imperial period. Increasingly popular as grave goods, they are sometimes found in the dozens. This type of vessel is also often referred to as a 'Toilet Bottle' by cataloguers. This vessel follows Isings form 28 A.Made/Created
Date made
1 CE - 100 CETime Period
Roman ImperialEthnography
Culture/Tribe
Near Eastern - Syro-Palestine